Following a complete change in mission and menu at Bucky’s, I have posted an updated review of our experience, and the “Bucky Burger” here.
But, if you’re really interested in reading my first review of Bucky’s, read on…
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A few weeks ago I noticed that Bucky’s Soup Sandwiches Salads was opening near the corner of Cedar and 42.
We had a recent comment that let us all know that Bucky’s was opening soon and I decided that I needed to get over there to let everyone know what was up.
I had to drop Kim off at 28th Ave so that she could head in to work and I was on my way to Northfield to watch Penn State lose to Michigan. I needed a salad for lunch and I figured that I had worn out Subway as an option (even though their fat free dressing options are decent) so I headed down to Bucky’s Soup Sandwiches Salads to see what they had to offer over Subway.
I walked into the store with who I presume to be a manager/owner outside painting colorful notices of the offerings inside. I checked the hours on the door and from what I remember they are open from 10 until 8. Nothing like what Subway offers but still decent if you’re looking to eat lunch and dinner at the “normal” times.
The inside is quite large for any sandwich shop and had quite a bit more seating room than I would have ever expected. The counter is at the back of the store and was staffed by two young employees. There was a printed menu taped to the front side of the counter and there was a large blackboard behind and above it that listed some options (none of which were salads).
I took a look at the green printed menu and it said that you had the option of making any sandwich into a salad. It appeared that the majority of their sandwiches (which included meat) were in the $5.95 range (I should have grabbed a menu but I didn’t see any available, sorry). I decided on a vegetarian salad which had been my intention from the get-go.
They listed numerous vegetables on their menu and I really wish I had that list in front of me now because I believe that I didn’t get half of what was listed there after I left with my take-out salad. The two behind the counter worked together on my salad and asked me several times what I wanted on it and I told them everything “except olives”.
While they were fixing my salad greens, I perused their salad dressing offerings. They had a couple of pre-made salads that included meat in the cooler above them and then a row of various dressings that seemed to only include one that was fat free (I could be wrong) and that was honey mustard. I chose the honey mustard and went to the cashier.
The cashier was a young man who had at first rung me up only for the bottle of water I took from another cooler. After trying to swipe my card through and failing he brought over the woman he was working with who added on what I assume was the salad and then ran it through. I ended up paying $8.20 for both the water and the salad.
Now, with the sandwiches being in the $5.95 range and the water (IIRC) being $1.25, I think that they must have charged for the dressing too. Now, I didn’t get any meat on it and I think I was missing some veggies as well. Instead of the bottled water I should have taken them up on the freely available water in a huge glass container next to the register with lemon slices floating on top.
The menu did mention that wifi is available in the restaurant and they had a few tables with newspapers laying over them. The woman outside was using newspaper on the windows she was painting on so I’m not sure if the newspapers are a permanent fixture or just part of the on-going work on the place.
Now for my comments:
I really feel that if you’re offering sandwiches and salads as your main purpose that you should be making something more interesting than your typical sub shop with salads being little more than an afterthought. Even the now defunct Jan’s Brown Bag Deli had some interesting names for what they had on the menu.
I felt like I was completely overcharged for a vegetarian salad with the few items I had on top of it. I also didn’t care for the bagged dressings with only one fat free option but that’s not a huge concern for the general public.
I don’t believe that this location will work at all in its current state and will unfortunately fail just like so many others in the area that aren’t backed with corporate money. There just isn’t enough need for “yet another sub shop” that has only wifi to top what is already offered at Subway. There is also not much around there to offer lunchtime customers as opposed to McDonalds, KFC, A&W, Subway, Denny’s, Raising Cane’s, etc.
Well, I suggest you stop in and see for yourself and post away below. I have no problems in returning if things improve. Please do let me know if they do!
See all the pictures from Bucky’s here (mobile).
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September 27th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I don’t think you gave them quite a fair shake. You don’t go into a sandwich shop and try a salad! The sandwiches are great, BUT the soup is even better. The soup is homemade and the best you can find in Apple Valley. Panara’s, Subway and any other fast food place all have bagged soup which is extremely salty and full of preservatives. Bucky’s is all homemade and not salty so for so many out there that stuggle with high blood pressure or are trying to cut out on the salt and the fat there are some really great alternatives.
September 27th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
If salads aren’t one of their main concerns and soup and sandwiches are, then perhaps they should drop salads from the name of the business (while continuing to sell them) and just be renamed “Bucky’s Soup and Sandwiches”.
If you’re going to go out of your way to draw customers in by putting it on your name, I suggest that you make damn sure that you live up to your name.
October 7th, 2007 at 7:55 am
It would appear that people are astroturfing for Bucky’s as well. Hey, if you own the place or work there, say so. Don’t pretend you were a customer!
Another strike for Bucky’s that puts them in the same unfortuinate league as Kami Japanese Steakhouse.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I just got the new “Dollars and Sense” coupon book in the mail yesterday, and it’s now branded as “Bucky’s Diner”.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Patti,
Thanks for the update. I’ve modified the title on the site to reflect their apparent name change.
February 7th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Patti,
I got the same thing you did and it includes a website here that shows that they have made some serious alterations to the menu. They are now serving breakfast, lunch and dinner all of which seems fairly reasonably priced and very traditional diner fare.
Kim’s a big fan of biscuits and gravy so we may head in there and see how it stacks up against all of Kim’s previous history with the dish. I’m not quite sure what I’ll have as everything on the menu (especially dinner) is pretty unhealthy and I already know that the salads were overpriced but it’s definitely a better option that eating at IHOP or Perkins because it’s locally owned and operated.
Anyone been there since they rebranded themselves as a diner?
March 16th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I own another small business in the area and I eat lunch at Bucky’s diner about once a week. I have eaten breakfast and lunch there many times, and still contend that it is the very best place for homemade soup (especially the chicken wild rice & broccoli cheddar). Their breakfast is also very good, with excellent homemade buttermilk pancakes- look out! they are very heavy! Their egg fare also tastes better than dennys/perkins/ihop… I think their prices are very reasonable considering the superior quality of the food & the fact that they are a locally owned shop (it is very hard to make it nowadays, and I don’t mind paying an extra dollar or two to support the local shops)
March 17th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Bucky’s needs to do a little better job with an “Open” sign or some kind of lighting. I went out on Saturday night with my three kids to get some breakfast fare. I needed to stay in the “downtown” Apple Valley area as I was continuing on to other places in the area. The first place I drove by was Bucky’s, not remembering if they were open at dinnertime — it looked dark so I ended up taking them to Perkins. It’s frustrating to know that they were indeed open. I also drove by there yesterday (Sunday at 5 p.m.) on my way to Valley Bike & Ski (which closes at 5:00…lame). The entire strip mall was desolate — one car in front of Von Hansen’s and again, I glanced at Bucky’s and they looked like they were closed (I did notice they offer Wi-Fi which is nice). Christopher & Banks was the only place that was well-lit, obviously open, and had any “inviting” quality about it. I ended up eating a salad from Byerly’s, which was the next stop on my errands after the bike shop.
If the businesses there want to stay open, they really need to look inviting and…well…like they are open!
March 17th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I do notice that they have a blue and red “Open” sign that’s usually lit when I go bye on Cedar but I haven’t had a chance to get back in there since they have been done over as a “diner”.
I do hope to get there soon and give Bucky’s another shot. Trish gave us a good idea of what to have for breakfast but has anyone tried their dinner menu?
March 17th, 2008 at 11:34 am
That kind of sign is, at minimum, exactly what I look for. Either they removed it, forgot to turn it on all weekend or it was obscured by something. Saturday for sure, and maybe Sunday, had there been an “Open” sign on, I would likely have stopped in.
FWIW, I turned right off southbound Cedar and drove the “road” down the middle of the lot. I didn’t get right up close to the place but I was close enough to notice the Wi-Fi signage and the absolute zero vehicles in the entire lot on that side of the strip mall.
On a side note, I was also at Penn Cycle across from Brianno’s in Eagan yesterday. I’ve mentioned to them in the past (Brianno’s) that I almost turned away from the place because it always looks closed from the outside (you can’t see the interior lighting, there is no “Open/Closed” sign) etc. They don’t seem too concerned as they looked closed yesterday, but were open. That said, I imagine they do a much, much better volume of business than Bucky’s.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Well, to be fair, we shouldn’t be comparing Bucky’s volume of traffic to Brianno’s bas Bucky’s is a diner and Brianno’s sells food and is also a full service deli/specialty grocery.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Yes…no comparison from a business standpoint. It’s a loose comparison based on a couple of my own personal experiences: You have two independent businesses, both minimally visible from the main road, and both risk losing business (actually one DID lose business) to passers-by who look over and think they’re closed.
In an economic climate where you need every customer and dollar possible, it’s absolutely shameful to lose business because you forget to turn on your “Open” sign and/or make your business look attractive/welcoming (in whatever form) to the public.
My $28 went to Perkins instead of Bucky’s, just like my $30 pizza order almost was lost once at Brianno’s, and I feel bad about it.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I just wanted to let you know that our hours have changed to accomadate the traffic that flows through here: Monday - Friday 8am to 8 pm and Saturday and Sunday 7 am to 3 pm. Most people on those evenings want to go out for fine dining where they might get a drink or two.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Mishelle,
Thanks for the update, it’s appreciated.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
We got three coupon books in the mail today and all three had coupons for Bucky’s. They are obviously looking to meet MSPD’s demands for a South Metro burger as they are promoting their “tantalizing BUCKY burgers” in two of the three fliers.
Honestly, I really want to get there to try them out. I’ll bring my buddy Josh up from Northfield as he’s convinced that the burgers at J. Grundy’s Rueb ‘N’ Stein are the best…
Dave, let me know when you’re available :)
April 7th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I just spoke with a coworker who lives in Lakeville and tried Bucky’s Diner recently. He told me that he was disappointed with the hot roast beef sandwich because he felt like it was deli meat instead of the “home cooking” that Bucky’s says they have listed on the coupon he used. He did say that he was going to give them another shot for breakfast but hasn’t done that yet.
I haven’t been in there yet since the update but I am planning on going this weekend and will post an updated review of the new setup then.
April 11th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Looking forward to the new review, Bill! In today’s mail I had an enevelope from Coffee News…seems I’m this week’s winner, and I won a $10 certificate to Bucky’s!
April 13th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I posted an updated review following our visit today here.